‘The Lion King’ teaser becomes Disney’s most-watched trailer debut

Trailer shows baby Simba being introduced by Rafiki to the gathering at Pride Rock. Photo: Screengrab

The first trailer for the live-action remake of ‘The Lion King’ which was released last week has become Disney’s most-watched trailer debut of all time.

The teaser trailer reached a record-breaking 224.6 million global views in 24 hours, according to Disney.

“Thank you for helping the teaser trailer for The Lion King become the most-viewed Disney trailer debut ever as it reached a record-breaking 224.6 million global views in 24 hours!” Disney tweeted.

‘The Lion King’ clip has also landed at number two in the most-watched trailer of all time from any company – getting beaten to the top spot by Avengers: Infinity War.

The stunning trailer featured Mufasa's "everything the light touches" speech, and shows baby Simba being introduced by Rafiki to the gathering at Pride Rock.

Set for a July 2019 release, The Lion King will feature Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones reprising his role in the 1994 animated movie as Mufasa, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as his nemesis Scar.

Beyonce is set to voice Simba's childhood friend turned love interest Nala. Comedian John Oliver was confirmed as Zazu, while other big names in the production include Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner.

The production will build on Disney's hugely lucrative reimagining of that movie and several other classics from its vaults — including "Beauty and the Beast," "Maleficent" and "Cinderella" — for contemporary audiences.

"The Lion King" is one of the biggest animated films of all time, with a lifetime global box-office gross of just under $1 billion.

It won Oscars for the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John and Tim Rice, and for its score by Hans Zimmer, plus two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling more than 14 million copies.